Her Beautiful Smile
by svay2010
Summary: This is a work in progress about a romance between nakatsu and ashiya. Will it work out or fall through like the manga?
1. Chapter 1

When love is involved, does age, gender, religion, politics, or anything of that nature really and truly matter? Ashiya Mizuki entered Osaka high as a young disguised as a boy to meet her idol - Sano Izuki. Her intentions involved persuading Sano to return to the high jumping world. Along with her goal, she needs to keep her a gender a secret or else she would be expelled. Upon her first day of school, she meets an interesting guy - Nakatsu Shuuichi, the prodigal soccer player who intends to become an international world renowned soccer player. With his bleach blonde hair, caramel brown eyes, and exquisite physique, any girl from St. Blossoms would be starstruck by his aura. But, unknown to the girls, he has his heart set on Ashiya, the new exchange student from America. He does not know the truth behind Ashiya's gender, yet he still adores her. During the night of Sano's scolding of Ashiya, Nakatsu notices her crying alone and finally confesses his feelings.

"I love you. I may not be Sano, but I would never hurt you, make you cry, or anything else of the like. My only thought and purpose would be to protect you from any harm."

Ashiya could not belive what she had just heard from Nakatsu.

"Umm...Nakatsu, I really appreciate..."

"No, I do not want to hear it unless you are returning my feelings. I will wait for you until then."

"But..."

"Shhh...did you not just hear me? I said I don't want to hear it. God, is it that hard for you to understand? Do I need to speak in English? **I no here ok**?"

And then the unexpected happened. Amongst the falling tears down her slender face, came a laugh out of her petite mouth. Nakatsu finally realized something: even if she doesn't love him, he still wanted to stay by her side and make her smile.


	2. Chapter 2

After Ashiya's departure from Osaka High, the boys returned to their normal routine. Sano worked hard to be able to attend University of California to be with his dear Ashiya. Nakatsu is still working hard towards his goal of playing in the world cup to see his friend again. But, there are times where he still thinks of Mizuki and her fair skin and beautiful smile.

"Mizuki, I have a meet on Friday, and it's in Irvine."

"So, I'm guessing you won't be back until Sunday Sano?"

The look on Sano's face confirmed Ashiya's guess. He's had many meets that she hasn't been able to attend since they're far away. There were many times where she would stay up all night just waiting for his phone call. But, she understood that he was exhausted from the high jump. All she cared about was that he came back happy.

"Yeah. I'm really sorry. But, I'll call you when I get there, ok? Or, you could just come to my meet. It's been a while since I've seen you at any of my meets."

"I know it has. But, Irvine is really far plus there's so much traffic that I most likely will miss seeing you jump. But, your next home meet is in two weeks, and I'll definitely be there cheering you on."

Knowing that she'll get to see Sano's graceful jump sent a bright smile to her face.

As Sano said his morning goodbyes, he kissed Ashiya gently on her cheek. Seeing Sano leave put a Ashiya into a bad mood. She hated seeing Sano leave, especially since she wasn't taking any summer classes. It made her feel alone. Her friends were on their vacation, and she stayed here hoping to spend time with Sano, but he's been practicing. It's during times like these where she misses Japan and her friends from Osaka High.

_I haven't talked to Nakatsu in a while. Maybe I should give him a call? _

RING. RING. RING. _Crap. I forgot to check what time it is in Japan. Let's see it's 7 a.m. here, so it should be…damn it. It's midnight there. He probably won't pick up. _

"Hello?"

_He picked up. And, he doesn't sound tired._

"Hey Nakatsu! It's Mizuki Ashiya. I hope I didn't bother you or anything."

"No you didn't. Not at all. I just got out of the car."

_Out of the car? Where was he this entire night? _

"Oh. You're probably tired though. I can call back at a different time."

"No. Don't even worry about it. So, why did you call? Not that I'm not happy. I just haven't heard from you in a long time. How's Sano doing?"

"I was just bored and realized that I haven't talked to you in forever. Sano's doing well. He just left a few minutes ago…" DING DONG. DING DONG. "Hold on just a second. Someone's at my door."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh. My. God! What are you doing here! I'm so glad to see you though!" Ashiya said this while jumping up in ecstasy for a hug from her friend.

"It's good to see you too Mizuki. I've missed you quite a bit."

"So, that's what you meant that you were getting out of a car!"

A chuckle came out of Nakatsu's mouth.

"Yeah. I wanted to surprise you, and I think I succeeded, am I right?"

And just like years before, her smile and laughter was just enough to remind him of why he loved her.

"Yes! You're correct. I was thinking you were still in Japan and just got done going out. I was a little worried."

"You're still the same Mizuki. Always worrying about everyone but you."

"Well you haven't really changed either Nakatsu. You're still always making me laugh. So where are you staying and for how long?"

"Well, I was hoping Sano would be here to so I could tell him the good news too."

"He'll be back around 4. He's really serious when it comes to his practices. But come inside and tell me the good news!"

As they sat down, Nakatsu looked around and noticed the many pictures of Sano and Ashiya together looking happy. He couldn't help but cringe with the thought of how much he still loved her.

"So, what's this good news about? I'm guessing it has something to do with you coming to Cali?"

"Yeah, you're right. Well I've transferred to UCLA."

"OH MY GOD! That's great! So where are you staying? Are you going to be living on campus?"

"Slow down eager beaver. As for right now I'm going to be staying at a hotel until I can find an apartment. The school's giving me a full ride due to my amazing soccer skills."

"You still know how to boast about soccer. But, I'm glad you're still going towards your goal. But, just so you know you can't stay in a hotel. You can stay here with Sano and I until you find an apartment. Of course, you will need to help with house chores every now and then, but you won't have to pay for anything."

"Are you sure? Maybe you should wait until Sano gets back from practice. He might not like it you know?"

"He'll be happy to see you Nakatsu. But, if you want we can wait until he gets back from practice."

"Yeah. It'll make me feel more at ease."

_I don't know how Sano would feel about me being here when I still have strong feelings for you. _

RING. RING. RING.

"I'll be back…Hello? Sano! Guess what? Oh. You're leaving early for your meet. No. It's ok. But, guess who's here? It's Nakatsu! If it's ok with you, I asked him to stay with us until he gets his own place. Really? I knew you wouldn't mind."

"So…Sano's ok with it?"

"You know eavesdropping is very bad. But, yes you're right. You can stay! But, he won't be back until Sunday. I'm sorry that you won't get to see your best friend sooner."

"Yes. Eavesdropping is bad, and I need to get rid of that habit; however, it helps me find out information faster. And, even though I can't see Sano sooner, I at least have the company of my other best friend."

And, just like that, everything felt like before at Osaka High. Ashiya didn't feel as lonely as before thanks to Nakatsu's surprise. But, how will the summer continue with the three friends?


End file.
